When Tommy Brennan takes the stage on Saturday Night Live next month, it won’t be his first time on NBC’s airwaves. The up-and-coming stand-up comic visited 30 Rock just three months ago for a serendipitous set on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
At the time, Brennan was promoting shows scheduled for October 3 and 4 in Minneapolis. What he didn’t know then was that he’d have to cancel those dates. This week, SNL announced Brennan as one of five new cast members for its upcoming season, which kicks off October 4.
Brennan’s Tonight Show debut featured autobiographical material about dating, being the son of a doctor, and growing up with six sisters. (“You can’t love eight kids individually. You manage them like a sports franchise,” he joked.)
Brennan has been working the stand-up circuit for over five years. A St. Paul, Minnesota native, he built his career in Chicago before moving on to Los Angeles and, more recently, New York City. In 2023, he was selected for Just For Laughs’ New Faces of Comedy showcase (which also featured SNL writer Asha Ward). That same year, the New York Comedy Festival named him a Comic to Watch—an honor once held by departing SNL cast member Michael Longfellow.
In 2024, Brennan’s stand-up was highlighted by both Comedy Central and Don’t Tell Comedy.
After opening for fellow Minnesotan Louie Anderson in 2019, Brennan developed a close relationship with the legendary comic, who mentored him and helped sharpen his material. Since then, Brennan has toured with comics like Taylor Tomlinson, Nikki Glaser, Dusty Slay, and Kelsey Cook.
Beyond stand-up, Brennan co-created and starred in the web series Roommates-In-Law with comedian Tim Smith. The pair later turned the series into a podcast. Their combined channel has amassed more than 30,000 followers on TikTok.
He has also produced sketches for his YouTube channel, including a music video about a Covid-era breakdown and a short lampooning ’90s rom-com screenwriters.
Brennan joins the SNL cast alongside newcomers Veronika Slowikowska, Kam Patterson, and Jeremy Culhane, as well as Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall.
